Permissible Exposure Limits Advisory Committee

About

The Permissible Exposure Limits Advisory Committee is comprised of members from various entities throughout Oregon as well as Oregon OSHA staff. Both were invited for their background, professional standing or expertise in occupational health.

The purpose of the meetings is to strengthen the partnership between Oregon OSHA and the regulated community. The mission is to investigate substances with established permissible exposure limits (PELs) within Oregon OSHA’s existing regulations, not to create new PELs for substances without. The committee’s objective is to identify existing PELs which may be under protective and to determine where exposures are occurring in Oregon. The committee's goal is to provide input into the efficacy of the existing PELs and to make recommendation for PEL adjustments where warranted. Oregon OSHA will use the advisory group’s suggestions as a starting point for potentially amending a narrow list of existing PELs. The PEL advisory committee met three times in November and December of 2016.

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Meeting minutes

In March 2017, Oregon OSHA selected Lead and Manganese from the PEL advisory group’s list of suggested candidates. Lead and manganese are the first of approximately four to six candidates to undergo a PEL reduction through the rulemaking process. These substances were selected because of their broad exposure to workers in Oregon across a wide range of industries.

The process for reducing the PELs will involve separate rule making efforts by Oregon OSHA. Each will have separate advisory committees, public hearings, comment periods, adoption dates, effective dates and time lines for completion.